Improvement in flood-gates



NATHANIEE HINGKLEY, OF vlllARS'IGNS MILLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 109,734, dated November 29, 1870,' antedated November26, i870 IMPROVEMENT IN FLOOD-GATES.

The Schedule referred to in these fetter-s Patent and making part of thesame.

yTo all whom it may concern: Be it known that -I, NATHANIEL HrNcKnnY, ofMarstons Mills, in the town and county of Barnstalble, in the State ofMassachusetts, have invented `an Improvement in Flood-Gates for Dams asa security against freshets; and I do hereby declare that the following,taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies and forms partofthis specification, is a description of my'invention sufficient toenable-those skilled in the art to practice it.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel means for automaticallyopening Hood-gates set in dams .made across streams, which shall operateto open such gates whenever, by rise of water, the pressure against thedams shall become so great as to endanger their stability. y

Gates are usually found in dams, hut they'are not made automatic intheir action, and have to be raised byan attendant or watchman, and itsometimes occurs that, during `his absence, or in the night, a heavyrain so swells the stream that the increased pressure against the damcarries it, vor a part thereof, away, causing much loss and danger.

Small streams, particularly in hilly districts, are

`specially liable to sudden rise, and it forms a disagreeable part ofthe duty or business ofthe mill-owner or attendant, on stormy andtempestuous nights, to watch the rise ofthe stream, so as to be ready toraise the flood-gate if necessary, and to close it again to prevent lossof the headot" water which it is desirable to' maintain.` I

My invention consists in the combination ot' devices for automaticallyopening and closing flood-gates iu case of freshets, as hereinafterdescribed.y

Figure l of' the drawing is afront elevation of a dam provided withantomatically-openin g and closing floodgates, depending for theiraction on the rise and fall of water back of the dam or in themill-pond.

Figure 2 isa vertical section taken on the line a: x, through the ood-Tatc shown at the left of hg. 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line y y, through thedood-gate shown in the center of fig. 1.

- Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line z z,

through' the flood-gate seen at the right oi' fig. l.

arepresents the mill-pond, into which the stream discharges andaccumulates. i

b Arepresents the dam, which has in its face or width, not shown in thedrawing, a waste-way at about the height or level at which, underordinary circumstances, it is desirahle'to keep the water, removable andinterchangeable ush-boards being used at the waste-way to vary thewater-level `within ordinary ranges, as is thecommon practice. i p

.The automatically-operating safety-gates c c' c" are -hung on pivots,and vibrate in opening from, and in made as a spout or trough, so thatwhen the level ot" the water reaches the edges of the trough, where itis let into and secured to the gate c, the water will flow down thetrough into the tank j, and will4 there act as a weight to open the gateand cause it to assume the position indicated in dotted lines, whichopens an aperture through the dam, and relieves it from pressure bylowering the water-head.

The float e is xcd at such a position that Ithe water pi'esses it upwardwhen it reaches a height at which it will flow into the tank f, and soaids the water-weight in the tank in starting open the gate,

The tank j is perforated with a small hole, through which the water inthe tank will drainout after the head of water is lowered, so that it-ceases` to run through the trough into the tank, and when the tank isdrained the pressure ofthe water fin the pond a will shut gate c, andkeep it closed until such time as the head of waterlshall risesuliiciently to again act on the float c and runinto. the tank j, whenthe result'will he as before described.

lhus it will vbe seen that a gate so arranged is automatic in itsoperationin both opening andclosing, and it follows that thel servicesof a watchman or `:tn-attendant to open gates to preserve the dam from'vY i being washed awayin time of' freshets, and to close them to preventunnecessary waste ot' water, may bel dispensed with.

I claimv The trouffhed lever carr in@ a float at one end and a tank atthe other, and connected to operating the gate at av point between thefloat and tank. substantially as shown and described. Y

' NATHL. HINGKLEY. Witnesses:

J. B. CROSBY, L. H. LATIMER.

